THE IMAGE Former European champion Jean-Marc Ferreri does business in the Cévennes

The former 1984 European champion with the Platini generation, today VRP of ®Umbro in the south of France, was in the Cévennes on Monday 6 March. Jean-Marc Ferreri notably discovered the company Wolf Racing France, which plans to invest in the Humphry-Davy regional economic activity park (PRAE) in La Grand’Combe.

Jean-Marc Ferreri does not put all his eggs in one basket! The former professional footballer, discovered by Guy Roux whom he still considers his “second dad”, embodies the example of successful post-career. Commentator of Marseille matches on OMTV before the channel bowed out, sports consultant to Xavier Domergue in the Europa League on W9 after having long been paired with Denis Balbir, the one who made the heyday of AJ Auxerre is also VRP of the sports equipment manufacturer ®Umbro in the south of France for a month.

“Umbro equips Lorient and Reims in Ligue 1, but above all eight Premier League clubs. It’s a very big brand”, says Jean-Marc Ferreri, visiting Alès this Monday, March 6. Because the winner of Euro 84 with the Platini generation does not only target the big teams, and even recounts the astonishing connection with the Stade de Sainte-Barbe de La Grand’Combe: “Basically, I was an ambassador for the Italian equipment manufacturer Legea. I had sympathized with Sébastien Migliore, who is of Italian origin like me. He made me come to La Grand’Combe to introduce myself to Yavuz Akan, president of the Stade de Sainte-Barbe, a club that I have sponsored for several years.”

Thus, this Monday, after having renewed its partnership with the football club grand’combien and discussed the performance of the OAC in a restaurant in the city center of Alès, the one who is also an adviser to the president of the Sporting club of Toulon ( opponent of the OAC in National 2) visited entrepreneur Lionel Champelovier, boss of the Wolf Racing France team based in the Sainte-Barbe area of ​​Saint-Martin-de-Valgagères. Not for long ! Here again, Sébastien Migliore, Deputy Mayor of La Grand’Combe in charge of Economic Development, is no stranger to this.

The last named convinced Lionel Champelovier to take an interest in the new regional park of economic activities (PRAE) Humphry-Davy, so much so that the former pilot decided to install his new premises there on more than 30,000 m². “The building permit will be submitted soon”, confirms the boss of Wolf Racing. The move to La Grand’Combe will generate a vast recruitment plan, since the workforce will increase from 12 to 160 employees. As a reminder, an 18,000 m² indoor kart track will be built there, in addition to the construction of a factory, a driving school and a showroom (reread here).

After having spent a good part of the afternoon in the manufacturer’s assembly workshops, Jean-Marc Ferreri was not hiding his pleasure. “I love motorsport, especially Formula 1. I interviewed Théo Pourchaire, a young prodigy who has just won the Bahrain Grand Prix in F2, and I’m also friends with Romain Grosjean”, said the European champion with OM in 1993. While the terms of the contract had not yet been discussed in Lionel Champelovier’s office, the talented attacking midfielder of the 80s/90s had already put on his ambassador of Wolf Racing France, lending himself without difficulty to the game of photos – already posted on his social networks -. On the principle of give and take, the drivers and mechanics of the Alesian team should soon wear the colors of ®Umbro.

Corentin Migoule